Transcript Manifest Destiny - White Plains Public Schools

MANIFEST DESTINY
From the Atlantic to the Pacific
MANIFEST DESTINY
In the 1840s, many Americans believed in
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was
the nation’s destiny to expand from the Atlantic
coast to the Pacific coast
THE WILL OF GOD
The term “Manifest Destiny” was coined by a
New York Editor, John L. O’Sullivan
He suggested that it was the will of God or a
divine sort of destiny that the nation should
encompass all that land
WESTWARD EXPANSION
Of course, the Louisiana Purchase made
Manifest Destiny possible
From France, Jefferson – the usually strict
constructionist – gained the Great Plains, the
Mississippi River, and the port of New Orleans
LEWIS , CLARK, SACAGAWEA
And the maps of the Louisiana Territory
produced as a result of Lewis and Clark’s
expedition with the help of Sacagawea made it
easier for Americans to venture west
OTHER FACTORS
Americans also settled in Texas
Initially with the blessings of the Mexican
government if they converted to Catholicism
and pledged loyalty to Mexico
TEXAS INDEPENDENCE
Eventually, the American settlers declared
independence from Mexico and fought the
Mexican government
First at the Alamo, a former mission, where
many Americans were killed
ANNEXATION
But over time and with more battles, Texans
achieved independence
And by 1845, Congress voted to annex Texas
JUST A LITTLE MORE LAND
The Americans wanted the border between
Mexico and the USA to be at the Rio Grande
But the Mexican government believed the
border was the Nueces River
THE MEXICAN -AMERICAN
WAR
1846 – 1848
Mexico was defeated
The United States gained California, Nevada,
Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New
Mexico
THE GADSDEN PURCHASE
In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico
completed U.S. expansion in the southwest
THE OREGON TERRITORY
In an agreement with Great Britain in 1846,
the line dividing Canada and the United States
was extended westward to the Pacific, giving
the U.S. part of the Oregon Territory
“FIFTY-FOUR FORTY OR
FIGHT”
Before the U.S. gained the Oregon Territory,
Americans wanted the line of latitude for this
territory to be the 54°40′ line of latitude
Thus, the slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight”
but then settled on the 49th parallel
PRESIDENT POLK
President Polk is the President associated
with Manifest Destiny
He was president from 1845 – 1849
THE GOLD RUSH
Gold was also discovered in California in
1848
By 1849, Americans rushed westward in
hopes of finding gold in California
THE DECLINE OF THE
PLAINS INDIANS
As Americans moved west, they confronted
Native American Indians
Indian Wars ensued
Eventually, Native American Indians were
placed on reservations
THE END OF A WAY OF LIFE
As buffalo were killed for sport by American
settlers, the very way of life of the Plains
Indians was destroyed
NOW THAT THE BUFFALO
ARE GONE
For the Native American Indians, westward
expansion and Manifest Destiny meant the end
of their way of life and of their freedom
ALASKA
And although it was not Atlantic to Pacific
related, the United States also acquired Alaska
 In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska
from Russia for $7.2 million
THE RAILROAD TOO
The railroad also encouraged westward
expansion
As a transcontinental railroad was built with
often free federal land, Americans could more
easily move west